Board Member Boyet Cabilao Yambao Pushes for Stronger Support to Hog Raisers of Zamboanga Sibugay
Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay — In a passionate privilege speech delivered during today’s regular session of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, Board Member Boyet Cabilao Yambao stood firmly with the province’s hog raisers, calling for urgent government action to address the deepening crisis in the local swine industry.
Yambao outlined the mounting challenges faced by backyard hog farmers, including the devastating effects of African Swine Fever (ASF), unfair market prices, competition with imported meats, and soaring feed costs. He described these as “existential threats to local agriculture,” emphasizing that the province’s food security and livelihood of small-scale farmers are at stake.
Among the problems raised by hog raisers were low buying prices, high feed costs, lack of storage facilities, and unfair weighing practices. Yambao presented several key recommendations, including:
Government intervention in hog buying and price regulation
Activation of a Price Coordinating Council
Stricter measures to control and eradicate ASF
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Ban on imported meats to protect local producers
Enhanced monitoring at the barangay level
He also announced that stakeholders had agreed on a reasonable farm gate price through an executive order to be issued by the governor:
₱160.00/kg for live weight
₱190.00/kg for lechon
₱3,500 per weanling
Yambao urged the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) to deploy localized interventions and implement the Recognition of Active Surveillance (RAS) program for ASF and other contagious animal diseases. He explained that active surveillance means the government proactively seeks out signs of disease rather than waiting for reports, ensuring faster containment and protection of the livestock industry.
He further called for faster vaccine rollouts, stricter border controls, and standardized indemnification for culled hogs, alongside a clear regulatory floor price to prevent traders from exploiting backyard raisers.
“Let us stand with the backyard hog raisers of Zamboanga Sibugay before their barns empty completely and our province relies entirely on frozen imports,” Yambao concluded, earning nods of agreement from his colleagues.
The speech underscored a unified call for decisive provincial and national action to safeguard the hog industry — a vital pillar of Zamboanga Sibugay’s agricultural economy.
